Level image files contain highly specific data that has a range of meanings both to the game during runtime (on the CPU thread) and to the level shader itself. The colors seen in levels can be slightly confusing, so this document relays them all.
- All colors are represented in 8 bit format (that is, I will use the range
0to255like most people are used to, not0.0to1.0as seen in shaders). This way it's easier for everyone to understand. - Any mention of a color (especially red, green, and blue) should be considered on a per-channel basis. In Layman's terms, think of it like the color wheel in your favorite image editor, how it shows you three sliders for R, G, and B. I'm talking about those sliders individually, basically.
- Since this term is used throughout the document, "iff" is a shortening of the phrase "if and only if". Thought I'd mention it. It's not a typo!
- A "palette row" is one of the